Scott's Christmas Carol
by Naley4ever616
Summary: It's Christmas Eve and Nathan has one last chance to get Haley back in his life before she's gone forever. Based on A Christmas Carol.


_**A/N: **__Hello! So this is story is based on a prompt given to me by kaya17tj so I hope you like it! As the title suggests, it's based on A Christmas Carol. As always, let me know what you think! And Happy Holidays! I hope you all wake up on Christmas morning and find a sexy Nathan with a bow on his head under your tree. :)_

"So you doin anything for Christmas tomorrow, Scott?"

Nathan threw his towel into his locker and slammed the door shut. "Probably just watching the game. You?" He watched as his teammate John closed up his own locker.

"Yeah, my wife's got her entire family flying in to spend the holidays at our new house. It's a good thing coach didn't run us too hard today. I have a feeling she's going to put me to work cleaning the second I get home."

"That sucks man," Nathan bent down to pick up his duffel bag and threw it over his shoulder. "but I'm sure you guys will have fun."

John picked up his own bag and the two headed out of the locker room. "Definitely. Hey, if you're not doing anything tomorrow feel free to stop by. I'm sure Julie wouldn't mind."

They walked through the doors back out to the gym. "Thanks for the offer, but it sounds like you guys will have enough people to entertain."

"Alright, but seriously don't hesitate." John gave him a slap on the shoulder and headed for the parking lot. "Have a good Christmas Scott."

"Thanks, you too John." Nathan watched his teammate leave then walked out onto the court. He looked up and around at all the empty seats. Three or four nights a week this place was lit up and completely full with thousands of fans coming to watch him, the rookie sensation, and his teammates battle on the basketball court. Of course, Nathan never had anyone up there to look for. His teammates had their friends, family, wives, and kids up there cheering them on, but not Nathan. He didn't have anyone.

He walked to the center of the court where he always started the game, jumping for the ball. He looked down at the Knicks logo painted on the hardwood floor and wondered. _Was it worth it? Was it worth losing everyone I love to come to the city and play basketball?_

The sound of the rest of his team coming from the locker room snapped Nathan back to reality. He turned and headed for the door with the rest of them. He jumped when two of his teammates came up from behind him.

"Hey Scott! Why don't you come out to the bars and get a drink with us?"

"Yeah, and maybe get yourself a little _Christmas cheer_ if you know what I mean."

Nathan laughed at Brad and Damien. The two were so much alike it was scary. "As tempting as that sounds, I think I'll pass."

The two looked at each other and shrugged. "Oh well, more fun for us." They jumped in front of Nathan and headed off to God knows where.

Shaking his head Nathan headed off to his car. Back at his apartment he threw his bag down on the floor, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, then plopped down on the couch and started flipping through the channels. Apparently all the stations were showing Christmas movies, none of which caught Nathan's interest.

He walked back over to the fridge to find something to eat. He opened the door to find all the shelves empty except for a carton of eggs and a gallon of milk that was probably expired. Nathan sighed and slammed the door shut. He grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and went over to get the Chinese take-out menu from his drawer full of other menus. He chose his meal then dialed the number to place his order. Now he had twenty minutes to kill.

Nathan grabbed his bag and went back to his room. He set it on the bed then walked to the bathroom to take a shower, ignoring all the little things Haley had left on their dresser when she left a while back. He couldn't bring himself to get rid of them, not wanting to admit she might never come back.

After his shower Nathan put on a fresh t-shirt and sweats just as the delivery guy knocked on his door. He grabbed some money from his wallet and went to open the door.

"Hey Paul."

"Hey Nathan. Here you go." He handed Nathan his sack and took the money Nathan gave him.

"Thanks man, have a good one."

"You too. And Merry Christmas."

Nathan shut the door. There was certainly nothing _merry_ about this Christmas. Sitting alone in his apartment eating Chinese take-out at 8 o'clock on Christmas Eve? Yeah, that's how everyone else wants to spend their Christmas.

He spent the rest of the night flipping between different movies. Around 11 he decided to call it a night. He turned off the tv and threw away what was left of his dinner, then headed back to his room.

Nathan got ready for bed then went to get under the covers. All these months and he still slept on his side of the bed. Before turning out the light he opened the drawer of his bedside table and took out a photo of him and Haley from a few years back. Of all the nights he'd spent alone, this night was definitely the most alone he'd ever felt. Everyone had someone to spend the holidays with except him.

He put the picture back then turned off the light. He rolled over and faced her side of the bed, stretching his arm across the place she used to lay, right next to him. He laid there for a few minutes before sleep started to wash over him. He managed to whisper "I love you Hales" into the dark, empty room before the exhaustion overtook him completely and he drifted off to sleep.

Nathan felt like he'd been asleep for mere minutes before he heard someone calling his name.

"Nathan."

He shifted, thinking it was part of his dream since no one else was in his apartment.

"Nathan."

Who the hell was this? Suddenly he felt something hit his head.

"For God's sake Nathan, wake up."

Nathan slowly started to open his eyes, weary of who he might see in his room. When he opened his eyes the room was full of light, like it was the middle of the day. There was no way he'd been asleep all night. But when he focused his attention on the room he was in he realized he wasn't in his apartment back in the city. He saw something move at the foot of his bed. He realized who it was and nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Holy shit, Keith!"

Keith smiled. "Is that how you greet your favorite uncle after all these years Nathan?"

Nathan sat up in the bed and blinked a few times to make sure he was really seeing this. Keith had died years ago. There was no way in hell he could be here. "I uh-"

Keith waved it off. "Don't worry about it." His eyes looked Nathan over. "You look like crap."

"I haven't really been sleeping well lately."

"Ah yes, I hear you're having some trouble with your wife." Keith got up and started walking around the room. Nathan's eyes followed him and that's when he realized just where they were. This was his old apartment from high school.

"You _heard_?"

Keith turned back around. "One hears things now and then. Just because I'm not around doesn't mean I don't know what's going on."

Nathan was still having trouble understanding all this. "So, am I dreaming?"

His uncle laughed. "I don't know. You tell me." Apparently Nathan didn't look convinced so Keith went on. "I'm here to help you Nate. You made a few mistakes, big ones, and you need to fix them before its too late."

"What do you mean? Fix what before it's too late?" Just then Nathan heard laughter coming from down the hall in the living room. He knew that laugh anywhere. "Haley?" He jumped out of bed and ran down the hall. Before he got to the end he saw Haley run past, covered from head to toe in flour. Just as he was about to speak to her he saw a younger version of himself run after her. He turned back to see Keith walking up behind him. "Where are we Keith?"

"Do you remember this?"

Nathan turned back to see his younger self grab Haley around the waist, spinning them around then pulling them both down onto the couch. "Yeah. This was my first Christmas since I'd been emancipated from my parents. Haley brought some decorations over so we could have a Christmas here, together." She'd also tried to get them to bake sugar cookies, but seeing the ingredients all over her and him, Nathan remembered just how horrible those cookies had turned out. Haley had been devastated and it took a lot of consoling before she got over it. "Why are we here?"

"Only you can answer that Nate. You picked where we came, so there must be something here you want to remember."

"You do know how crazy you sound right?" Nathan turned back to himself and Haley. They were cuddled up on the couch now, looking at something across the room. "Can they hear us?"

"No."

Nathan walked into the room and saw the object of their gaze. It was the Christmas tree Haley had brought over. The thing couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 feet tall and they had way too many strands of light on it. It was probably more of a fire hazard than a Christmas tree, but it was their first one and Haley had been determined to give Nathan a proper Christmas. Just then Haley jumped up off the couch.

"C'mon. We've gotta get ready for dinner tonight." Nathan laughed as he watched her try to pull the younger him off the couch. After a few useless tugs she gave up. "Fine. If you want to go looking like a human gingerbread man then that's fine with me."

Even though he knew she couldn't see him, Nathan still jumped out of the way as she started down the hall. He knew what was coming next. Getting ready for her family's dinner had taken a little longer than they had thought and they ended up half an hour late. As if on cue Nathan watched himself jump off the couch and race down the hall, followed by a squeal from Haley coming from his room.

Nathan smiled and walked over to look at the tree. He glanced back and saw Keith inspecting their cookies and muttering something about rocks.

He looked at the presents under the tree. His present to Haley was obvious; he hadn't been that good at wrapping so it looked like a mess. He'd given her a necklace that she still wore almost every day, or at least she did until she left. He had no idea if she was still wearing it now.

Nathan looked at the ornaments she'd brought over to put on the tree. A lot of them were just silly things she had leftover from when she was a kid. Nathan's family never really did the whole "decorate the tree together" thing. Their tree was always put together by a professional, complete with matching ornaments, tinsel and lights. This tree looked like a mess of homemade ornaments and multi-colored lights, but it had always been his favorite tree of theirs over the years.

There was one ornament in particular that caught Nathan's eye. It was an ornament shaped like a basketball. Haley had gotten it for him, and she'd drawn a heart on the side of it. It was supposed to represent the two most important things in his life; basketball and her.

"Damn, that's one ugly tree kid."

Nathan looked over at Keith who was now standing next to him. "I think it looks fine."

"So do you know why you're here yet?"

"Not really. I mean, I get that this was my and Haley's first Christmas together, but all it's doing is making me miss her even more than I already do."

"So why haven't you gone to talk to her yet?"

"She asked me not to."

"Why?"

Nathan was really starting to get frustrated with all of Keith's questions. "I don't know. Maybe she was tired of me and doesn't want to be with me anymore."

Keith gestured to the tree. "Does this look like someone who doesn't want to be with you? Maybe she wants to see how far you're willing to go to get her back."

Nathan didn't know what to say. Down the hall he heard Haley giggle and the two of them whispering. Suddenly he didn't want to be there anymore. "Can we go now?"

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah."

Keith held out a hand. "Ok."

Before taking his hand Nathan looked at his uncle. "I really miss you Keith."

His uncle smiled. "I'm always with ya buddy."

Nathan took his hand and suddenly he was back in his apartment, laying in his bed. He sat up and looked at the clock. 2:47am. Had he just dreamt that whole thing? Keith hadn't really been there had he? No no, there was no way he'd gone back to his old apartment and relived his first Christmas with Haley. That was crazy.

Nathan got out of bed and went down the hall to get a glass of water from the kitchen. When he turned on the light he saw someone going through his fridge. He started to reach into the closet to grab a bat (Haley had insisted on having a weapon in the apartment) when the person behind the fridge door spoke.

"You really need to get some food little brother."

"Luke?"

Lucas popped his head up. "Hey there sunshine." He closed the door. "Seriously, what's a guy gotta do to get some food around here?"

Nathan ignored his question. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm here to help you Nate."

"Yeah, that's what Keith said before he took me on some psycho-trip back to high school."

Lucas let out a small laugh. "Don't worry, I'm not taking you back to high school."

"Then where are we going?"

"I don't know, that's up to you."

"Why is everyone being so freakin cryptic?"

"Because you have to figure this out for yourself." Lucas walked over to Nathan and held out his hand. "Are you ready?"

"No."

Lucas grabbed his hand anyways. "Hold on."

Nathan braced himself for some big shock or jolt of some sort, but there wasn't one. But they definitely weren't standing in his kitchen anymore. It looked like they were in someone else's apartment. Judging by the sounds and horns coming from outside they were still in the city. "Luke, where are we?"

Just then Haley came out from the hallway carrying a box, followed by another girl carrying another box. The girl looked familiar, wasn't that Haley's friend Brooke? Shit. This is where Haley came after she moved out of their apartment.

The girls set down their boxes next to their tree, which was pretty bare. If they were just now decorating the tree then this must've been recent. Nathan and Lucas watched as they went through the boxes, pulling out various ornaments, lights, and strands of tinsel.

"I'm going to go get that other box." Brooke said over her shoulder as she left the room.

"Alright." Haley kept going through her box, setting random decorations on the table and putting ornaments up on the tree as she came across them. Some of the things she started pulling out looked familiar to Nathan. How had he missed her taking their Christmas decorations? He would come home sometimes and find that she'd been there because more of her stuff would be gone. But since he hadn't really been in a Christmas mood this season he hadn't even looked for their Christmas boxes.

His stomach dropped when she pulled out his ornament, the basketball. He knew exactly what Haley was thinking as she looked back and forth from the ornament to the tree then back to the ornament, like she was trying to decide if she was going to hang it or not.

"Isn't that the ornament Haley gave you for your first Christmas together?" Nathan had almost forgotten about Lucas behind him.

"Yeah. How the hell do you know that?"

Lucas held up his hands defensively. "Comes with the territory little brother."

They both watched as Haley reached up to put it on the tree, but then decided to put it back in the box. Nathan felt like he'd been punched in the gut. The fact that she wouldn't put up his ornament meant she was hurting more than he knew.

"Ok, this should be it." Brooke came back in with one more box. After setting it down on the floor she walked over to the tree. "Looks good Haley." She bent down to look in the box, pulling out Nathan's ornament again. "Hey, you forgot one."

Haley took it from Brooke and put it back in the box. "No, I didn't."

Brooke looked at her for a minute. "Are you sure you shouldn't call him? I mean, it's Christmas. You guys should at least try to be together."

"He's probably busy with basketball or something." Haley started making herself busy with some of the other boxes. "And if he hasn't called by now then he's probably not going to."

"Maybe if he knew you wanted him to call then he would."

_Yeah, listen to Brooke_ Nathan moved around so he could see Haley's face. Were those tears?

"I shouldn't have to tell him. He should just know." Haley gave up on the box and sat back on the couch, not trying to hold back the tears anymore. Brooke went to sit beside her and put an arm around her, not saying anything, just letting her know she was there for her.

After a few minutes Brooke gave Haley a quick hug then jumped up, offering a helping hand to Haley. "C'mon, let's make some hot chocolate."

Haley took the hand and the girls went off to the kitchen, but Nathan didn't move. He couldn't. Was he really this stupid? How had he totally missed how much he'd been hurting Haley?

He walked over and looked into the box. His ornament was the only thing left. It was just sitting there, taunting him, with the heart side facing up. Haley and basketball; the two most important things in his life. Looking back on their first year in the city though, basketball had been Nathan's main focus, not Haley. _She _moved here for _him_. Until now he hadn't really thought about how much she'd actually given up so he could play in the NBA.

"Do you see where I'm going with this Nate?"

"I think so." He turned back to his brother. "Can we go now?"

Lucas smiled and held out his hand. Nathan took it and suddenly found himself back in his bed. This time his alarm clock said 5:17am. What the hell was going on? He turned on the light next to his bed and sat up before noticing the kid standing next to his bed.

"Shit!"

"That's a bad word."

Nathan reached out to touch the kid's head to see if he was real. He was standing there in his pajamas, and a…was that a red cape? There was something familiar about him though. "How old are you?"

The kid looked down at his hand before holding up his fingers. "I'm four."

"Why are you here?"

"You're supposed to come with me."

Nathan stayed in the bed. "I'm supposed to go with _you_?" The kid held out his hand. "Do you have a name?"

"Jamie."

"Isn't that a girl's name?" The kid didn't say anything back; he just stood there with his hand held out. "Fine, let's get this over with." Nathan took the kid's little hand and found himself standing in someone's living room. "So where did _you_ bring me?"

The kid, Jamie, shrugged. "You'll see."

Just then Nathan saw Haley come out of the kitchen carrying a tray of food in one hand and balancing a baby on her hip with the other. She looked beautiful. "Nathan?"

For a second Nathan forgot all about the rules and thought she was talking to him. But then he saw himself come from down the hallway. "Yeah?"

"Can you take Jamie for me? I've got to get this food done before everybody gets here."

Nathan watched himself take the baby then head over to an area in the room next to the Christmas tree that was full of baby toys. "C'mon Jimmy-jam, let's play some basketball." They sat down and Nathan put the ball in the baby's hand, helping him put it through the basket and lifting him up in the air when they scored. Suddenly Nathan made the connection.

"Hey, isn't that your name?"

Jamie looked up at him like he was missing something. "Yeah."

"Well, is it short for something?"

"James. It's my momma's name."

James James James, Haley James! "What's your middle name?"

"Lucas. James Lucas Scott." The kid nodded his head as he said each name, like he'd rehearsed it before. "My uncle's name is Lucas too. He's the coolest."

Shit. That's why he looked so familiar. He was the spitting image of Luke. Nathan jumped when he heard the front door open.

"Merry Christmas!" He watched Lucas come walking through the door carry bags of gifts. He set them by the tree then went over to pick up baby Jamie. As he watched Lucas walk by, Nathan noticed his basketball ornament hanging on the tree, heart side facing out. That was a good sign. "And how's my favorite nephew doing?"

Nathan got up off the floor. "Finally sleeping at night if that's what you mean. Hey, can you watch him for a sec while I go help Hales in the kitchen?"

"Of course." Nathan watched as Lucas sat down on the floor and the older him went off to the kitchen. He turned to Jamie.

"So, you're my kid?"

"Yep."

"And Haley's your mom?"

"Uh huh."

Nathan walked over to look in the kitchen and smiled. So much for getting the food ready. His future self had Haley trapped against the counter with his hands resting on either side of her. He covered Jamie's eyes as he watched himself kiss her then lean in to whisper something in her ear. He watched Haley's eyes flutter closed and he could literally see her melt into his body. This wasn't something he wanted to explain to his, um, son. At least not for a few more years. Several, actually.

They walked back into the hallway. So she _did_ come back to him. It was all going to work out. "Great. Well you can take me back now." He looked down to take Jamie's hand, but he wasn't there. Well, he was, but he was fading. "Where are you going?"

Jamie looked up at him. "You didn't come after momma."

"What are you talking about? We're here, we're a family. I got her back." Nathan gestured to the kitchen. "It all worked out." But he was still fading away.

"You didn't save me."

Nathan couldn't believe this. He tried to grab at Jamie but it was like trying to grab air; his hands went right though him. "No! Come on! I got her back. We're happy!" But Jamie was gone and Nathan found himself looking at his agent. "Clay? What the hell are you doing here?" Nathan turned around but they were in a different house.

"I'm here to show you what your future looks like."

Nathan ran around the new house, looking for Haley. "What the hell Clay? Where's Haley? And Jamie?"

"They aren't here Nate."

Nathan came back into the hallway Clay was in. "Yes, they are. Haley and I got back together, we had a baby, and Lucas came for Christmas. We had a house. She was here, Clay! I swear she was."

"That was if you went after her. But you didn't."

"Yes I did!" Nathan was seriously about to punch something. "Where are they?"

Clay pointed down the hallway to the front door. "Just watch Nathan."

He turned in time to see Haley come through the door, covered from head to toe in snow. A little kid completely covered with a hat, a scarf, a coat, and snow pants came waddling in behind her. "See? That's Haley and Jamie. I told you they were here."

But as Haley declothed the kid he saw it was a little girl. They have another kid? Nathan smiled. She looked just like Haley.

"Where's daddy?" the little girl asked, looking at the front door.

"Daddy's putting our sleds away. He'll be in soon." After successfully removing the last snow-covered piece of clothing Haley started working on her own. "How about you go sit at the kitchen table and when daddy gets in he'll make us some hot chocolate."

Nathan watched the little girl jump up and down and run into the kitchen. As she did the front door opened again and a man walked in. Haley looked up and smiled at him. "Hey. Everything put away?"

"Yeah." He helped Haley with her coat before taking off his own. "Where's Elizabeth?"

Haley nodded towards the kitchen. "Waiting for her daddy to make some hot chocolate." She smiled and leaned in to kiss the guy Nathan didn't recognize. What the hell was going on?

"She can wait for a few more minutes," he said as he wrapped his arms around Haley and pulled her in close. Nathan felt like he was going to be sick. He turned back to Clay. "Who the hell is this?"

"That's her husband."

"No. I'm her husband. We're still married. We fixed everything and started a family! What the hell is this?"

"You didn't go after her."

"Yes I did! Why don't you believe me?" Nathan walked over to Haley and this creep and started yelling, not caring if they couldn't hear him. "Haley stop! C'mon, you and me, we're supposed to be together, always and forever." He went back over to Clay. "Cant' you make them hear me or something?"

Clay shook his head. "You chose this future Nate. You chose it when you didn't go after her."

"But I did! Why aren't you listening to me?" Nathan turned back to Haley but they started to fade away. "This can't be happening, this can't be happening." The next thing Nathan knew he was back in his bed. The light was still on, but no kid this time. He was tangled up in his sheets and covered in sweat. He laid back down on his pillow and covered his face with his hands. _No more eating Chinese before bed._

He got up and looked at the clock. It was a little after 7am. Christmas morning. Suddenly Nathan knew exactly what he had to do. He threw on some clothes and ran out of his apartment. He weaved along the streets, baffled that it was so busy for being Christmas. A few wrong turns later Nathan found himself standing outside what he remembered to be Brooke's apartment. He prayed to everything holy that it was as he knocked on the door. A few minutes later a grouchy lady opened it. He almost hugged her when he realized it was Brooke.

"Can I help you?"

"Brooke! I need to see Haley. Now."

"Nathan? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Yeah, sorry, but it's really important."

"Who is it Brooke?"

Nathan looked past Brooke and saw Haley coming down the hall. "Hales!"

Haley stopped when she saw him. "Nathan?"

Nathan politely pushed past Brooke and went into the apartment. "Yeah."

"Why are you here so early?"

"I'm sorry it's just, I really needed to talk to you."

"Now?"

"Just hear me out, please? Then if you never want to see me again then I'll leave." He watched her lean back against the wall and fold her arms across her chest. Even this early in the morning she looked absolutely gorgeous.

"Alright."

Nathan took a breath let spill the speech he'd been rehearsing the whole way here. "I know I've been totally caught up in basketball lately and didn't realize what I was letting slip away. You were there, and I didn't see you. You gave up so much so that I could come to the city to live my dream, and I don't think I've ever thanked you for that. You've done so much for me Hales, and I didn't appreciate it properly. I didn't appreciate _you_ properly." He stopped for a second to gauge her reaction. She hadn't left yet, or laughed in his face, so that was good. "I want you to come home Hales. You and me, we belong together. That's just how it's supposed to be. Always and forever. I miss you. And I love you. I love you so much Hales, and it's taken me this long to realize how completely and totally lost I am without you. So, call me a jerk, or an ass, or whatever you want, but just come home. Please?" That was it. That was all he had. If she didn't take him back now, he didn't know what he'd do.

To his surprise, however, Haley threw her arms around his next and kissed him. This was so much better than he remembered. He wrapped his arms around waist and pulled her into him. He never wanted to let go.

Reluctantly he pulled back when he felt her do the same, but she didn't go far. "Do you know how long I've waited to hear you say that?"

Nathan smiled. "I know. I'm an idiot."

Haley smiled back. "But you're my idiot."

Nathan gave her one quick kiss before leading her into the living room where Brooke was standing, looking a little annoyed but happy for the most part. He looked around, a little surprised when he saw the ornament box on the floor where it had been when he was there with Lucas in his dream, or whatever that was. He reached down and picked up the only ornament left.

"Nathan, what are you doing?"

He turned back to her, holding up the basketball ornament. "I think this belongs somewhere."

Haley walked up to him and took the ornament, then hung it on the tree. "Perfect."

Nathan wrapped an arm around her and kissed her temple. "Merry Christmas Hales. I love you."

She turned and tucked her face into Nathan's chest. "I love you too Nate."

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. This was definitely the best Christmas ever.


End file.
